Pakistan's Army to Confront Nationalists in the Southwest

NY Times ^ | January 13, 2005 | SALMAN MASOOD

[neverdem]

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 12 - Army troops have been sent to Pakistan's largest natural gas field, in southwestern Baluchistan, after attacks by Baluchi nationalists forced the authorities to close the plant, officials said Wednesday. Pakistan pledged tough action against the nationalists, who are demanding greater royalties for the gas extracted in their area.

Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad, the capital, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said "punitive action" would be taken if the tribesmen did not halt their attacks on "national assets." At least eight people have died and several have been wounded since Friday in clashes between government forces and the nationalists. Mr. Sherpao said the attackers fired 14,000 small-weapon rounds, 435 rounds from rocket launchers and 60 rounds from four-barrel mortars at the Sui gas plant.

On Tuesday, the tribesmen stormed the plant and tried to take control, according to Pakistani officials. They were driven back after a fierce gun battle, but the attacks damaged high-pressure pipelines at the purification plant, which was closed for fear of leaks of poisonous gas. Gas supplies to parts of the country, particularly industrial operations, were suspended as a result. Officials said the supplies would be restored in the next couple of days. The Sui plant meets 22 percent of Pakistan's gas needs.

Baluchistan is the largest of Pakistan's four provinces, and is rich in mineral and natural resources. But it also has high illiteracy, unemployment and poverty, which have fueled grievances against the government.

A low-level insurgency, which has been simmering for years, has gained momentum in recent months. Baluchi tribesmen want a greater share of natural resources and oppose additional garrisons by the military, and have criticized the development of a giant port project in Gwadar, in the southwest.

The violence poses a mounting challenge to President Pervez Musharraf, an important ally of Washington in fighting terror. In a television interview on Tuesday, General Musharraf issued a stern warning to the nationalists: "Don't push us. It's not the 70's, when you can hit and run, and hide in the mountains," he said, alluding to the military operation to quell a rebellion in Baluchistan in the 1970's. "This time, you won't even know what hit you."

But official warnings seem to have little effect on the disgruntled tribesmen, who have continued their attacks across the province, on government installations and personnel. Low-intensity rockets have hit the provincial capital, Quetta, several times in the past six months. A deadly bomb attack there in December killed 11 and wounded 30, according to Pakistani news reports.

In an apparently unrelated development on Wednesday, unidentified gunmen in Rajanpur, in southern Punjab, which borders Baluchistan, kidnapped 11 workers of the Water and Power Development Authority, the state-owned power company. Three engineers were among those taken captive. The cause of the kidnapping remained unclear, according to police officials.

[neverdem]

Low-intensity rockets have hit the provincial capital, Quetta, several times in the past six months. WTF? He probably meant low-intensity rocket attacks.

The New York Times
The Sui gas plant has been under attack by Baluchis since Friday.